The Headless Horseman
Atop his black horse, the Headless Horseman was draped in a black cape, brown pants, a grey suit jacket and brown boots. He was just that as well, headless. In his hand he carried a sharp sword that he would use to chop off the heads of his victims. Origins The Headless Horseman exists in the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, where he is said to be the ghost of a Hessian trooper that had his head blown off by a stray cannonball in a war during the American Revolution. In 1790, it was rumored that the Horseman was responsible for the disappearance of a Sleepy Hollow schoolmaster known as Ichabod Crane. And it's also said that their exists a bridge in the glen of Sleepy Hollow, that can not be crossed by the Horseman, and if he did cross it, he would vanish. : A student at Magic School named Slick commented that another student known as Zach was a Sleepy Hollow buff, knowing a lot about the legend, impling that he was the one responsible for conjuring the Horseman from the tale. Attacking Sigmund Whilst the Charmed Ones were with Wyatt at his preschool, the child orbed back to the Manor where a door appeared in the stairway upstairs. The sisters heard a man yell for help, and as Paige Matthews orbed away with Wyatt, a man in a black rode emerged, thanking god that the sisters were home. But then a headless man on black horse materialized with a sword and as the other man yelled, he chopped of his head. As the head rolled onto the floor, the horseman vanished but the head was still alive. : Phoebe Halliwell placed the head on a table and fixed his glasses, she asked how the man was still alive and he said fortunately the rest of him was still at Magic School, protected; as long as his body remained on the grounds, he was safe. The sisters asked the man his name, and he told them it was Sigmund and that he had to get them to Magic School before the Horseman striked again. Paige orbed in with Leo Wyatt and Sigmund was happy to see Leo again. Leo asked what had happened and told them that Gideon, an Elder sent them for his help. Paige questioned who Gideon was and then Piper told everyone with legs to come with her. But Leo explained Magic School was supposed to be protected from evil. Phoebe then told her sisters that they need to help Sigmund and Magic School. The Horseman Attacks at Magic School In Magic School, they walked down a long hallway and entered the Great Hall, where Gideon awaited. Gideon apologized to Sigmund for what had happened and explained to the sisters how it all started; pranks at first, setting rats loose from the Pied Piper, turning the north dorm into a gingerbread house but then someone cast a spell that brought forth the darkness, days became nights, nights became terror and the Headless Horseman has roamed the campus killing teachers every since. Gideon then orbed Sigmund to where the other heads were kept. Paige then asked if someone was trying to shut down the Magic School by cutting off teachers' heads and Gideon said what better way for evil to gain an upper hand than to thwart the next generation of magic. : Piper told Gideon they had to find the student who conjured the Horseman but he explained it wasn't that simple because no student in the school possessed enough power to do such a thing, or at least they weren't supposed to. He assumed that a demon corrupted a student and has them doing it's bidding. Gideon then asked Paige to take over Sigmund's class, where when she walked in, she saw students bullying a teenager, known as Zach, holding him in the air with a power. She asked another teenager if he did that to Zach and what his name was. He told her it was Quentin, but then the other students laughed as another student that looked exactly like the boy who said he was Quentin, walked in. The student who said he was Quentin, Slick, shapeshifted back into his normal self and called Paige "out of sorts". Another student then conjured an apple for Paige but then Slick told her she should watch her "pretty little neck". Paige became suspicious of the students, thinking that one of them could be responsible for conjuring the Headless Horseman to wreak havoc on the school. : While Piper and Leo proceeded to the nursery and began talking to one of the staff responsible for watching the young kids. An alarm throughout the school then began blaring, signaling a threat was present. Gideon, other teachers and the students then scurried about in fear, the Headless Horseman then materialized and cut off Piper's head and vanished. Her head rolled on the floor and she said "great, just great". Release into the Physical World Leo and Paige brought Piper's head back to the Manor and placed her head on a wooden cabinet. As Paige told them she should check the Book of Shadows, Piper told them that had to find the student responsible and vanquish the horseman. Paige then told them she suspected it was one of the students in Sigmund's class and devised a plan to bring the students to the Manor. Paige orbed to Magic School to retrieve Phoebe but she wanted to stay to proceed with a vision quest. : Paige then returned to the Manor with the students and as they walked down the stairs, Slick pushed Zach and Zach became upset, telling Slick to quit picking on him. As the students gathered around Piper in the conservatory, Paige explained that they new one of them was responsible for conjuring the Horseman. Zach then asked if Gideon was going to shut down the school and the students started accusing each other of being the one who conjured the Horseman. As Paige went away to talk to Christopher in the kitchen, the Horseman materialized and tried to attack, but went away empty handed. Gideon then appeared and asked what the door to Magic School was doing open. And expressed great concern because the Horseman was now free in the physical world. : Gideon told Paige that she must try to track down the Horseman before he kills a human, because in the mortal world, humans are not protected by Magic School and will die if the Horseman cuts off their head. Paige and Gideon then orbed into an alley where they saw the Horseman materialize and kill a man. Gideon then told paige that the death of the innocent meant the death of Magic School. They went back to the Manor where Paige argued with Gideon, telling him Magic School must stay opened. They heard a frog croking and saw that Piper turned Slick into a toad. She then warned the others to behave or she would do the same to them. : Paige called for Leo and argued further with Gideon about keeping Magic School opened, Gideon told them their were rules to be followed, but Paige told him to screw the rules, telling him that he was the one who told Paige to be a teacher and to try to catch the Horseman, and that the school needed to remain open for future generations of Magic and Gideon agreed. : Piper was with the students when suddenly someone froze the room and then grabbed Piper's head and vanished. Gideon, Leo and Paige went to the conservatory and realized that one of the students must have done it, they then retrieved Phoebe to use her Empathic power to try to sense which student it was. Phoeb could sense anger and pain from a student, and she walked around the students and sensed that Zach was full of rage. Zach then unfroze and projected away, using the Astral Projection power of a teacher at Magic School. Final Attack and Defeat The two sisters then went to the school, where the Horseman materialized and chopped off their heads as well. Zach then told Piper he made them do it, they gave him no choice. Zachary then shapeshifted into Paige and went to the Manor where he had Leo orb the students back to the school. Once Leo was gone, Zach shapeshifted back into his regular self and attacked Gideon. The three sisters then devised a plan to destroy the Horseman, that required them to concentrate on the being, magically summoning him. They then recited a spell that destroyed the Horseman and reversed the roles, making them whole again. : Zach then argued with Gideon as he held an athame to his throat with a telekinetic power, and told Gideon that he was never there for him, and that the school took him away from his friends and family. But the sisters arrived and told him it wasn't Gideon's fault and that he had to embrace who he was, to which Zach dropped the athame, letting Gideon go. Vanquish Spell Recited by Piper, Phoebe and Paige, this spell did not only vanquish the being but it rejoined their heads to their bodies: The Power of Three unites To end this grizzly fright. Reverse the roles And make us whole. Notes *The manner to which the Horseman was summoned by the sisters is often mistaken as Phoebe using her empathic power, solely summoning the being, but all of the sisters, close their eyes, concentrating on the Horseman, making him appear. This summoning way have in fact been a conjuring, where like Zach conjured the being, they used their powers, conjuring him. Category: Charmed Universe Category: Magical Beings Category: Vanquished by the Charmed Ones Category: Season 6